PITTSBURGH ? Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made it a point to shake hands with each player as the team entered the locker room Thursday after beating the Carolina Panthers 33-17 in the preseason finale.
The gesture was Tomlin's way of saying thanks for a month of hard work. For some, it will serve as the last thing they'll hear from Tomlin before he says goodbye.
The defending AFC champions cruised through four exhibition games, winning three of them handily while emerging relatively healthy. It means there are very few roster spots up for grabs as the Steelers pare from 80 players to 53 by the end of the weekend.
"We had an opportunity to evaluate a number of men, and I believe they represented themselves relatively well," Tomlin said. "Now, it's on to the regular season ... I really appreciate the efforts of a lot of men, and I was really impressed by that, not only (against Carolina), but throughout the entire (preseason)."
Several players likely assured themselves of staying employed next week.
Running back Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 88 yards, including a 50-yard burst for a touchdown. He ended the preseason as Pittsburgh's leading rusher and appeared to distance himself from former Wisconsin star John Clay, who wound up with 30 yards on seven carries on Thursday.
"All I can do is control what I can control (and) go out there and play, and everything else is up to the organization," Dwyer said. "That's the part of leaving a lasting impression and making them decide. I just tried to go out there and make some plays."
Punters Jeremy Kapinos and Daniel Sepulveda had kicked to a virtual dead heat during training camp, but Kapinos averaged a whopping 63 yards on two kicks against the Panthers while Sepulveda averaged 40.5 yards his two punts.
The only other true position battle is at backup quarterback, where Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon are vying for the No. 2 job behind Ben Roethlisberger after Byron Leftwich broke his left arm against Atlanta a week ago.
Batch was efficient while completing 6 of 8 passes for 59 yards vs. Carolina. Dixon wasn't quite as sharp but did a solid job of getting the ball downfield, he threw for 157 yards and a touchdown to reserve tight end Wesyle Saunders.
The Steelers scored on Batch's first drive when David Johnson fell on Mike Wallace's fumble in the end zone. Batch was hardly concerned about how the ball got there so long as it did.
"I wanted to do was go out there and put the team in the end zone," Batch said. "That was something we were able to do from the start, and that's how you want to open up a game."
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, sidelined with a foot injury during camp, had four catches for 60 yards. The somewhat jumbled secondary allowed the Panthers to throw for more than 300 yards, though cornerback Will Allen did come up with an interception.
The numbers are hardly cause for alarm considering the Steelers sat nearly the entire starting defense. Roethlisberger sat too, meaning Pittsburgh should be a full strength when it opens the season on Sept. 11 against the Ravens.
It's a game wide receiver Hines Ward has been pointing to since the day camp opened, while Roethlisberger admitted to peeking at film of Baltimore's defense earlier this week.
The two are the heavy favorites in the AFC North, as usual.
"It's like a (Floyd) Mayweather (Jr.)-(Manny) Pacquiao fight," Pittsburgh defensive lineman Ziggy Hood said. "It's going to be a slugfest, and we're geeked up. This is what you work for, and this is the way to rumble."
It's a game more than a year in the making for offensive lineman Willie Colon, who missed the entire 2010 season with a torn Achilles. He re-signed with Pittsburgh in late July, and is eager to make his miserable Sundays from a year ago a distant memory.
"Last year, I was a couple of kegs of beer in every Sunday, because I was so depressed," he said. "At this point, I'm ready to roll, and I'm excited about the running game. We have an explosive offense.
"If we can be consistent, we can be a good team, and that's the key."
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